So, Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times thinks Skyfall, the name of the new James Bond film, sucks.
I disagree. Fresh out of Ian Fleming tales following 2006′s Casino Royale and 2008′s Quantum of Solace (which has very little to do with the actual story “Quantum of Solace”), the Bond majordomos at EON Productions are back to the made-for-movie titles of the Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan era.
But Skyfall, the third Bond film to star Daniel Craig, is a lot more classic than, say, Tomorrow Never Dies or Die Another Day. If anything, it harkens back to the Fleming titles named for some code name featured in Agent 007′s globetrotting adventures. Thunderball, for instance. (Yes, I know Moonraker is another example.) The naming trope worked well enough in GoldenEye, when Bond producers repurposed the name of Fleming’s seaside Jamaican villa as a rogue Soviet satellite program.
My point is, in the annals of James Bond, it’s not a sin to name a movie after its MacGuffin.
And here’s the potential proof: Today, EON released the first teaser for Skyfall, which begins with Bond being either interrogated or debriefed with a word-association game.
“Country,” the interviewer says.
“England,” Bond replies.
“Gun.”
“Shot.”
“Agent.”
“Provocateur.”
“Skyfall?”
“Done,” 007 says after a bit of prodding.
Skyfall, unexpectedly, could be nothing but a code name for either an operation or assassination target. And the rest looks exciting and gloomy. And just why does James Bond seem so morose this time out? Sam Mendes, who has directed only one uplifting film in his career (Away We Go, which is pleasing only if you’re younger than 35), is directing this Bond caper. I’m excited:
